Tottenham a Top Four club? A Jol reality or has he been schmoking?
Martin Jol has laid down a clear timeframe for the Champions League; “If you look at the quality of the top four clubs, then they are still the top four and we are together with six or seven other teams.
“You can say we did well last year and that this time we have to be in the Champions League - but we are not there yet.
“We have to make a nice mix of good young players and top experienced stars.
“Then hopefully in the next two years we can be contenders for the top four - or maybe even better.”
These comments show ambition, but do they show realism? I’ll ignore the current form of Tottenham, much as the rest of the league is enjoying their predicament, we all know that is (probably) only temporary, so can his dreams be achieved?
On the face of it Yes, two years is a long time and Jol has largely built the team he wants, so over the next couple of seasons he should have molded it into the shape he wants. But to break into the top four two other things need to happen; at least one of the current top four need to stop developing, and the six or seven other clubs also need to stop developing (or not develop as fast).
So is it likely that the current top four will stop developing? Chelsea have raised the bar, and the other teams are responding. Being in the top four gives them constant access to the holy grail of the Champions League cash, and they continue to spread it about. Liverpool and Arsenal may have had a slow start but they are getting back on track, and they continue to develop in all areas of the park. Man United have also continue to build, ironically buying one of Tottenham’s key players, Carrick. So in order to break into this exclusive club Tottenham, don’t just need to continue developing, but the need to develop faster and with consistency.
Leeds managed to break into the top four but broke the bank in the process. Jack Walkers million’s helped Blackburn win the league, but thats gone now and so have Blackburn’s hopes. Everton managed to break into it but their small squad was nowhere near big enough to cope with Europe and the League so they crashed out of one and almost crashed out of the other. But maybe Tottenham’s slowly slowly approach is more realistic?
Talking of Everton, they are one of the “six or seven” other teams that Jol says are also pushing for a top four place, I assume that Newcastle and Villa are two other, but outside those I couldn’t see Bolton or Blackburn pushing their way back to the top. Newcastle continue to splash the cash, but their main problem is Freddie Shepard - he’ll always hold that club back. Everton and Villa have something more important that cash, they each have a good manager. Yes Villa will also be getting a war chest from Randy Lerner, but Newcastle have proved time and time again that Money alone can’t buy you the title.
So can Tottenham develop at a faster rate then Everton or Villa (I’ll ignore Newcastle on the basis that they’ve constantly proved themselves unable to progress no matter how much they spend)? Well Everton have gone for a similar slowly slowly approach and Spurs seem to be following their model of breaking (or almost breaking) into the top four then having a nightmare start to the next season. Everton and Tottenham have also sold their best player to United but, unlike Everton, Tottenham appear to be suffering from it. And Everton appear (at this stage in the season) to have had been luck in the transfer market in buying Johnson.
Villa has always had a decent squad, they’ve just had poor managers. That has changed with the arrival of O’Neill so we can expect Villa to also be progressing in the coming seasons.
So can Tottenham break clear of the chasing pack and then break into the top Four? It can be done, but not under Jol I fear. Selling your best player at a time when you are knocking on the door of success is just stupid, and selling them to one of you future “top four” rivals just doesn’t make sense. Everton and Villa have a better chance of making that step up, because they have better management, but they will each find it difficult to maintain that foothold when they are there.
Jol has laid out his stall, he’s standing in the last chance saloon and aiming high. Are his words just bravado? If he can turn the season around this year, then maybe the Board will allow him to persue his dreams. If not then Spurs will have to spend another few years in the wilderness until a new messiah can be found.
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7 opinions for Tottenham a Top Four club? A Jol reality or has he been schmoking?
Game servers
Sep 30, 2006 at 1:22 pm
Although much better now, the Spuds are most certainly not a top four club.
Chelsea, Manure, Arsenal, Liverpool to start with.
Tottenham don’t have live on a past reputation, more than any other club I can think of.
soothsayer
Sep 30, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Jol’s comments and others that you did not report such as Portsmouth could be the surprise 4th place this season have finally convinced me that he will never produce a good team at the Lane.
Let’s face, the Premiership is greatly over-rated anyway…. teams like Bolton, Spurs and Everton can finish near the top playing awful football and the runaway leaders cannot reach a European final even with all their money, so for me the challenge to win it or finish in the top 4 is not that great, it just takes a manager with common sense and some average players to get there.
My bet is that Martin O’Niell will do it for Aston Villa this year and we will be nowhere, which is what we have become accustomed to in past years, unless Jol changes his approach. Personally, I can’t see it but I can see another poor season and more departures of key players at the end of it, along with Mr. Jol.
gary sumsion
Sep 30, 2006 at 5:14 pm
A very naive view regarding Carrick’s transfer, If a player wants to leave the club you try to persuade him to stay if this fails, he must be sold for the highest price you can get for him.
How can you keep hold of a player that makes it very clear he wants to move on, the player will then often not give 100% for the team as he would be unhappy, if kept against his will, and will also then run down his contract and leave the club for nothing, luckily Spurs are not run by Idiots !!!.
Obviously you don’t understand how most players think or act when they want to leave a football club.
Sack the Juggler
Sep 30, 2006 at 5:38 pm
Sorry gary, Carrick wasn’t unhappy at Tottenham, United were interested in him, he said he’d like to go as United were the club he supported as a lad. Tottenham could have just said no, told him he was too valuable for them to sell him, but they didn’t, they took the money.
West Ham didn’t sell Reo-Coker when Arsenal came in for him, Bayern Munich didn’t sell Hargreaves, Carrick wasn’t threatening to go on strike, score an own goal, or even play badly.
If Tottenham really didn’t want Carrick to go he’d still be a Tottenham player.
If Man U had only offer £6m he’d still be a Tottenham player.
They asked for, and got £18m, so they sold him. If they’d decided to keep him then I’m sure would have gone on to have a long and glorious career with Tottenham.
name
Sep 30, 2006 at 6:31 pm
Gary is right. If Spurs had not sold Carrick, he would have done a Sol and walked out for free.
Pity Man Utd didn’t get done for their illegal tapping up through a sympathetic media.
Sack the Juggler
Oct 1, 2006 at 12:39 am
Unlike Campbell, Carrick still had over two years on his contract, Tottenham bought him for £3m and sold him for £18m, they saw that £15m profit and took it. Yes Carricksaid he’d like to go, but he didn’t slam him foot down and demand to go.
Like I said if United had offered £6m the he’s still be a Tottenham player, they offered £18m so he’s a United player now. It was all about the money.
Alan
Oct 3, 2006 at 4:37 pm
True, at this time it was all about the money simply because Carrick and his agent were making it very clear that they wouldn’t be signing a new contract and would have every intention of running the current one down for two years and leaving on a Bosman.
Add to that the few million extar Spurs got as “compensation” for not taking United to the Premier League over tapping Carrick up while under contract and we got a scenario whereby the player got the move he wanted and Spurs made a large profit on a player they might have seen leave for nothing in 2 years time after 2 years of increasing unhappiness at being denied a chance to move to United.
Spurs made the best of a situation they really had no control over.
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